Who Gives a Toss ? – The Astrology of Captaincy

There is only one reason why Capricorn Research is so devoted to astrology – because it works. A triple Capricorn would be the least likely person to believe in airy fairy nonsense but we are also pragmatists. If something produces concrete results we are definitely on board.

With Saturn in the sign even more so and I have resolved to celebrate my ruler’s homecoming by concentrating my research on an area that will bring definite financial gains, gambling on sport. This new approach has already brought considerable success with Australia’s ashes win and England’s success in the One Day Internationals.

Actual prediction in astrology is trickier than it looks, this is why you don’t see many specific ones made. There are a number of things to be taken into account, transits to the formation chart of the club or country, of the manager and also contest charts for the actually match itself. Weighing up the likely contradictory suggestions between these charts to come up with a clear who wins is complicated.

There is also the question of the chart of the captain.

The role of captain varies widely from one sport to another. Some football managers view it as largely irrelevant, changing the appointed one frequently. This is understandable as the captain in club football is largely symbolic, his main duty being to call heads or tails at the start of each match.

Winning the toss in football does not really bring an advantage apart from possibly choosing which group of fans to play towards in the 2nd half, but in cricket it is often absolutely crucial.

Captaincy in cricket is so much more important because of all the decisions that have to made around bowling and field setting.

The choice of whether to bat first or second to exploit the pitch and the weather is such an advantage in cricket as to almost give you the game anyway. So an awful lot can depend on how lucky the captain is on a particular day.

So it goes without saying that the transits to his chart are so much more important than in other sports.

As a general rule Capricorns make good England captains, Peter May and Root’s immediate predecessor Alistair Cook are the 2nd and 3rd most successful in history, behind Scorpio Michael Vaughan.

However May and Cook were not given the job just as Saturn was about to enter their sign.

Root made his England debut in 2002 when Pluto was conjunct his Sun and he quickly went on to establish himself as one of the world’s top batsmen.

But as with any newly appointed captain there are always worries about whether he will be up to the extra responsibilities of the job and whether his own form with the bat would suffer.

Root’s first tests last summer were inconclusive, but the real challenge would always be the tour down under.

In true to itself fashion, Saturn’s appearance in Capricorn has brought a great deal of extra responsibility onto Root’s shoulders. He has had to deal with several off field incidents around players social engagements, not least the continuing fallout from the Ben Stokes affair.

England’s poor performance in losing the Ashes 4 – 0 has been a tough baptism for Root. The signs are that things are not going to get any easier, England play tests in New Zealand in March when Saturn is conjunct the captain’s Sun.

If only the cricket selectors had access to astrology in picking their captain, but to be fair to them the only other choice they had last summer was Ben Stokes who was just about to have Neptune square his Sun.

Better to have your captain’s fate decided by Saturn and DRS rather than Neptune and the CPS.